Group Volunteer Opportunities

Deep Clean Crew

Help with detailed cleaning projects in the common areas, bathrooms, and administrative areas of Women’s Advocates shelter. Daily cleaning takes place, but every once in a while we need to move furniture around, clean underneath things, dust way up high, and wash windows. If your group likes to roll your sleeves up to make a difference, then this is the perfect job for you!

Group size:
4-8 people

Requirements:
Can bend, stand, lift 25 pounds, reach for things.

Schedule:
2 hour project, 8-3 M-F

Landscaping & Yard Work

Help make our yard look inviting, clean, and ready for the next season! Our front yards (of three houses) and back yard (of one house) have some established landscaping that needs seasonal attention from volunteers. If your group has an eye for landscaping and likes to break a sweat for a good cause, then this is the project for you!

Safety Resource Crew

Help us engage the community in preventing domestic violence by delivering safety resources to local businesses and community spaces. While we offer many services for women and children in crisis, our information is not always readily available. But, when we put our resources in the hands of the community, we enable women to access resources that will help them towards safety. Groups will print, assemble, and deliver packets of safety resources or sponsor and pick up printed materials from Women’s Advocates.

Group size:Any size group, off-site

Requirements:Group leader must schedule one 15 minute prep phone call with our team to prep, group must organize their off-site assembly space, and plan their group delivery schedule and transportation

Schedule:Any time; can be done off-site

Care Packs / Personal Items Packs Creators

Most families arrive at the shelter without their belongings – our team make every effort to provide personal needs and comfort items to families, but community support makes a world of difference. Groups like yours can collect items and assemble care packs or personal packs of items (baby wipes, detergent, fabric sheets, hygiene products, etc) to help our team fulfill the needs of every resident!

Group size:
Any size group off site.

Requirements:
Work with WA staff to decide on items in advance, efficient and organized.

Schedule:
Anytime, can be done off-site.

Preferred if group can provide materials to go in the care packs, otherwise must pick up from our shelter and return after the project is complete.

Children’s Activities Crew

The fun and learning should never stop at our Children’s Program! Help us to keep things lively for the children by putting on children’s activities (such as water activities in the summer, themed activities, etc) at our shelter.

Group size:
4-10 people

Requirements:
Good with children, well organized, yet has a “go with the flow” attitude, equipped with a fun activity for kids!

Schedule:
Typically weekday daytime, when our drop-in childcare is open or when our shelter based events occur.

Meal Servers

Choose a meal you would like to prepare and serve to approx. 20 women & 30 children, bring the cooks, and we provide a clean, commercial kitchen, along with 50 appreciative diners!

Great for 4-6 people.

Requirements:
Well organized, have a “go with the flow” attitude, familiar with safe food preparation requirements.

Items required:
If your group would like to choose the meal served, a meal plan shared with our staff is required 2 weeks in advance. Specialty items which cost more than our budget allows must be funded or provided by the group. Furthermore, groups can bring their own groceries EXCEPT for meats and dairy, which Women’s Advocates staff will purchase based on your submitted menu.

Schedule Options:Weekday or Weekend Dinner: Arrival typically by 2:30pm to prep, serve dinner at 4:30pm, clean up and depart by 5:30pm

Weekend Lunch: Arrival typically by 10am to prep, serve lunch at 11:30am, clean up and depart by 12:30pm

Donation Drive

Collect donations for Women’s Advocates! Throughout the year certain types of donated items are needed to help women and children on their journey towards safety. Collecting items or cash donations for Women’s Advocates can be a great way to get involved with the community and make a difference in someone’s life.
Typical donation drives are for diapers, target gift cards (which are used to take families shopping for children’s holiday gifts, personal undergarments, or other specified needs), financial donations for our programs, hygiene items, or new children’s winter wear. Depending on the interests of your group and the needs of Women’s Advocates, we decide together on what the best items to collect are. Folks have a blast doing these collections, and a delivery to the shelter results in a lot of appreciation, a few hugs from happy staff members, and a great memory to share with your group!

This project was supported by Grant No. A-CVS-2018-WOMADV-00013, awarded by the Office on Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice.